The holiday shopping rush — to the dismay of retail-working family members and Thanksgiving traditionalists — has taken a huge bite out of the ceremonial turkey dinner. As much as holiday conservatives have fought it, seasonal shopping begins before most families take the bird out of the oven.

To secure the bulk of doorbuster deals, you just have to take a slice of pumpkin pie to go.

The days of long lines that wrap around retail stores on Black Friday itself are predominantly over. Best Buy had one last year when it opened with a second set of doorbuster deals at 8 a.m the day after Thanksgiving, but the first wave for the electronics retail giant had come at 5 p.m. on the holiday. They’ve got the same plan this year, too.

Small clusters of shoppers gathered outside places like Westfield Sarasota Square and Staples for the crack of dawn Black Friday openings last year. There were and still are several players who keep their doors shut on the holiday. The plan worked well for employees and any shopper itching for those retailers’ first-in promotions, but the stores missed out on the kickoff hype. The competition in the wee hours was minimal because the crowds just weren’t there. This year Sarasota Square has switched back to a Thanksgiving Day opening.

Even though the crowds picked up midway through the afternoon on Friday, you’ve convinced me, Southwest Florida, that Black Friday in its traditional sense is dead.

And so I, like the bulk of the retail world, also will be working on Thanksgiving.

I’m going to start making my rounds around lunchtime, and I expect the most dedicated shoppers will have camped out well before then.

JCPenney is kicking off the openings this year at 3 p.m. and is offering coupons for the first people in the door, valued from $10 to $500. Those $500 coupons and the early opening could be enough for the department store to build on some of the momentum it’s recently had in the retail market. A lot of retailers have been hurting this year, but it’s been less so for JCPenney. In theory, a shopper could try for one of those $500 coupons and still nab a decent spot in line for a store with a 6 p.m. opening.

Best Buy, Macy’s and Toys “R” Us are all fighting for the 5 p.m. crowd.

Ellenton Premium Outlets, the Mall at University Town Center, Westfield Sarasota Square, Kohl’s, Target, Walmart and Bealls will all start their sales at 6 p.m.

While the chaos and the lines will likely be reserved for Thursday night, there are a number of retailers that are bucking the trend.

Office supply retailers OfficeMax and Office Depot have created a committee who will oversee the updates in the two companies planned merger, which was announced at the end of February.

Detailed in a regulatory filing on Tuesday, plans for the merger including a $30 million termination fee if either company looks for alternative business opportunities outside of the merger.

A committee, made up of board members from both companies, will oversee a search process for the joint company’s new CEO. Both Neil Austrian, chairman and CEO of Office Depot and Ravi Saligram, president and CEO of OfficeMax, are still being considered, according to a press release.

The merger is expected to close by the end of the year, subject to stockholder approval from both companies among other regulatory approval conditions. The merger is under review by the Federal Trade Commission, said a statement released Tuesday.

Photo by Barry McCarthy, Herald-Tribune staff.

For more shopping news in Southwest Florida, follow reporter Justine Griffin on Twitter and Facebook or email her at justine.griffin@heraldtribune.com. Read What’s In Store in print on Tuesdays.

OfficeMax Inc. and Office Depot Inc. announced a final merger agreement today, a transaction that will reorganize both office supply retail brands “as equals,” according to a press release.

The merger will create a “stronger, more efficient global provider better able to compete with the rapidly changing office solutions industry,” the announcement read. The combined company reported a combined revenue of $18 billion for the 12 months as of Dec. 29, 2012.

Boca Raton-based Office Depot has three locations in Sarasota and Manatee counties. OfficeMax has two Sarasota locations. All local stores will continue to operate as usual for the time being.

Office Depot stores:

4301 14th Street West, Bradenton, (941) 745-2411

5541 Fruitville Road, Sarasota, (941) 378-1037

1564 US 41, Venice, (941) 497-2448

OfficeMax stores:

5471 Palmer Crossing Circle, Sarasota, (941) 925-4579

3680 S Tuttle Avenue, Sarasota, (941) 922-3500

Under the agreement, OfficeMax stockholders will receive 2.69 Office Depot common shares for each share of OfficeMax common stock.

Fourth quarter 2012 sales for Office Depot were nearly $2.6 billion, down 12 percent compared to the year prior.

Photo by Barry McCarthy, Herald-Tribune staff.

For more shopping news in Southwest Florida, follow reporter Justine Griffin on Twitter and Facebook or email her at justine.griffin@heraldtribune.com.